The Piper of Berk
by DragonFire155
Summary: On an ordinary morning flight, Hiccup and Astrid find a shipwrecked young man on one of the small islands near Berk. They bring him home to be healed, but why does he have a flute out of an ancient saga and why does Dagur want him dead? Read to find out! Rated T just to be safe.
1. Prologue

**A/N: I recently watched HTTYD for the first time, and was completely hooked! After exhausting all additional content I could find on the internet, I looked to the fanfics and after reading a few, I decided to try to write one myself! Constructive criticism always welcome, flaming not so much. I'll try to write more of this as soon as possible, but I have an exam week starting tomorrow, so it might take a while. But I promise, I'll continue this as soon as possible.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing from this chapter.**

* * *

It was a completely ordinary summer morning in Berk. Hiccup was lying on his bed as the dawn's first rays of light shined through the window. He yawned as he saw the light, then counted, "Three, two, one." And on cue, a loud thump came from the roof, causing sawdust to fall from the rafters. He smiled as he got up and mumbled towards the roof, "Coming, Bud."

He made his way downstairs and outside through the door, all the while being careful not to wake Stoick. He'd had to stay up late last night solving some strange problem involving a sheep, a boot and a barrel of fish, and needed some rest.

He closed the door behind him and turned to look at the rising sun. He filled his lungs full with air and exhaled, "A perfect weather for a morning flight, eh Bud?" He looked at Toothless who dangled his head over him and smiled his gummy smile.

Suddenly Stormfly's head popped up next to Toothless'.

"Stormfly?" Hiccup said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She jumped down from the roof with Astrid on her back. "Thought we could fly together this morning." Astrid smiled.

"The morning flight is usually a quality time between just me and Toothless, but I don't think he'd mind having some company, would you Bud?" He said as Toothless jumped down next to him and pressed his nose against his hand. Hiccup scratched him behind his ear and raised his head to look at Astrid. "I'll race you to that island over there." She pointed at one of the islands that surrounded Berk. Hiccup followed the direction of her hand and once he saw where she was pointing, turned back towards her and nodded, "Game on." Astrid's smile turned to a competitive smirk as she and Stormfly took to the air in a steep ascend.

Hiccup jumped on top of Toothless and they took off, trying to catch up on Astrid's short head start.

And sure enough, they started to get closer to her. "Going somewhere?" Hiccup gloated as they passed Astrid. He knew he'd hear about that later today when she shot him a 'What did you just say?' glare.

"Come on girl." Astrid pressed herself closer to her dragon. "I'll give you some extra chicken if we win!"

This made the Nadder take up some extra speed, now going as fast as Toothless. Hiccup looked back and smiled a crooked smile. "Let's show the girls what your new tail can do." He patted Toothless' head and adjusted the tail. It didn't move much, just into a few degrees smaller angle, but that was enough to change the wind resistance just a little bit to make them move faster.

Astrid wasn't about to give up, however. She dug a drumstick of chicken from her pack and let Stormfly smell it. "Smell that delicious chicken? There's gonna be more in it for you if we win!" She let the dragon snatch the meat from her hand. "Now let's go!"

It didn't take long for them to reach the island. Hiccup and Toothless were there just a little bit earlier than Astrid and Stormfly. "Good job, Bud." Hiccup said and scratched Toothless behind the ear.

"You got lucky!" Astrid yelled at him over the loud wind.

"That's what you always say!" Hiccup replied. He couldn't stop the small grin from creeping up to his lips.

"Wait, what's that?" Astrid yelled and pointed down. Hiccup looked down where Astrid was pointing. It seemed to be a shipwreck. The last night's storm must have thrown it off course and right into the sharp rocks around this small island.

"Let's check it out." Hiccup said and descended next to the capsized ship, Astrid right behind him.

The ship wasn't big, just a small fishing vessel, made of ash wood by the looks of it. The mast had cracked and fallen down, and the white and red striped sail was ripped and uselessly hanging from the figurehead, covering half of it.

"It's a very small ship, maybe manageable by two people." Astrid noted.

"Stay here, bud." Hiccup said as he dismounted Toothless who growled warningly. "Let's make sure it's empty." He said to Astrid as he stepped through a gaping hole in the ship's keel. The hold was small, only meant to hold fish and fishing equipment. It was barely big enough for him to stand up straight. Sand had packed on the bottom of the hold and he saw two old fishing nets half covered by it.

"Hiccup." Astrid said a few feet away from him. "Take a look at this." She was holding an old, tattered leather bag. A small tooth of a terrible terror was used as a buckle to keep it closed. "Do you think Stormfly would like this as a new saddlebag?" She asked playfully.

"Doubt it." Hiccup smiled. "What's inside?"

Astrid opened the buckle and and looked inside. She overturned the bag on the floor. Clothes, some bread and a notebook dropped down from inside. The clothes were nothing fancy, basic gray wool tunics and leggings, and most of them were full of holes, eaten by insects or rodents. "Nothing of interest, it would seem." Astrid declared.

Hiccup stepped forward and picked up the notebook. He paged through it quickly, studying the contents. There were written song lyrics and notes, as well as a few drawings, depicting people and dragons as well as visualizations of gods. They were very nice, drawn with a confident and sure hand.

Astrid gave the bag one more good shake, and some kind of sleek wooden cylinders fell from a side pocket, clanking as they hit the floor.

"Now what might these be?" She asked and picked up the cylinders. They had small holes running along their shafts and were covered with ornate engravings. Both had a metal ring on both ends. The metal rings were silver, though their glint had faded many years ago. She pressed the two cylinders together and the metal ring slipped inside the other, turning the two cylinders into one.

"I think it's a flute." Hiccup said as he watched Astrid turn it around on her hands.

"Thank you for you input, Chief Obvious." Astrid deadpanned. "Any idea who it might belong to? Or more precisely, who might have been sailing this boat?"

Hiccup shook his head. "Let's check the deck." Astrid nodded and separated the cylinders again, then stuffed them back into the bag. She held it open for Hiccup to put the notebook inside, then closed it and flung the string of the bag around her shoulder.

They climbed the stairs from the hold to the deck. There was absolutely nothing interesting on it. A few broken oars and the ripped sail. "We should probably leave, there's nothing more here." Astrid said, looking around the empty deck.

"In a minute." Hiccup replied as he made his way to the sail. It had an odd bulge to it. "Come check this out." He said to Astrid without looking back at her. He grabbed the edge of the sail and lifted it to find a young man, about the same age as they were, lying on his stomach unconscious. "That must be the one who's bag you found." He stated with realization in his voice.

Astrid kneeled next to him and sat her hand in front of his face. She waited a couple of seconds and stood up. "He's alive," she declared "but we need to get him to Gothi soon. Who knows how hard he has hit his head."

"You're right." Hiccup said. "Help me get him up. We'll lift him on top of Toothless and bring him to the healer."

.

.

.

.

.

.

And that's how I ended up in Berk.


	2. First Day On Berk

**A/N: Yaass, got this one written before weekend was done. Hopefully I can keep this pace up, at least for a while. Please note that Baird is NOT me! He's just a character I made up from whose POV these stories are being told. I have some very interesting ideas for the future, so stay tuned! ;) Oh, one more thing; whenever you see** _cursive_ **text, that's Baird's thoughts being broadcasted directly into the text. Just so you know.**

* * *

My head hurt. A lot. Each heartbeat sent throbbing pain to my brain. I could feel a fire close to me on my left side. Slowly I opened my eyes, and I've never in my life been as terrified as I was when I saw a damn Night Fury standing over and staring at me. I let out a startled yelp and crawled backwards on my elbows, trying to get away from the beast.

It growled at me. Oh Thor, this was the end! I closed my eyes, praying the gods to have mercy on my soul. Then suddenly I heard a voice call, "Toothless?" Then footsteps. But there was something wrong with them, as if the other leg was made of metal.

"Ah, you managed to wake our guest!" The voice said again. Was he talking to the dragon? I finally dared to open my eyes and saw a skinny teenager standing in front of me, casually scratching the neck of the Night Fury. His auburn bangs hanged in front of his emerald green eyes, and he was wearing green tunic with a fur west over it. I couldn't help but stare in silence as this kid stood in front of me, holding his weight on his right leg; and I could see why, his left leg was gone knee down, replaced with some sort of metallic prosthetic.

I nervously kept switching looks between the Night Fury and the kid. He must have noticed that, since he turned to the dragon and said, "You should probably go wait outside, Bud." The dragon growled as it turned and walked away towards the door. I caught a glimpse of red at its tail as it strolled away.

Finally I managed to get a word out of me, "What the Hel was that!?" My voice was gruff and coarse. I coughed to kill an itch in my throat. That send a new wave of pain up my head. _Yeah, not doing that again._

"That, was Toothless." The kid said as he turned around and picked up a jug and a metal cup from a stand behind him. He turned towards me and poured water into the cup from the jug, then handed it to me. "Don't worry, he's harmless as long as you don't try to harm me."

I downed the water in three large gulps. I hadn't even realized how thirsty I was before he gave me water. "Can I... have some more, please?" I asked and avoided eye contact, handing the cup back to him. He filled the cup up again, then gave it back to me. This time I didn't drink so fast.

He placed the jug on the ground next to me and sat down on a chair, a few feet away from me. He looked at me, studied me. "My name is Hiccup." He said after I'd managed to get myself up to a sitting position. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Who are you?"

I emptied the cup and placed it next to the jug. "Who I am depends on where I happen to be." I said dryly.

"You're in Berk." Hiccup said. "Does that say anything to you?"

"Wait a minute..." I said and looked at him. "Hiccup of Berk? The dragon master?"

He smiled nervously and rubbed his neck. "Yes, I've heard some call me that... It's a better name than Useless."

"Thought you'd be taller."

"I hear that a lot too..." He looked at me expectantly.

I sighed. "I don't know what my given name is." I said nonchalantly. "I've changed my name so many times I'm not even sure if I've ever even had one."

"Then what should I call you?" Hiccup asked.

"Call me whatever you'd like. I don't plan on staying here for long."

"Why not?"

"Because I have business elsewhere."

"What business?" His curious grin was starting to annoy me.

"None of your business, business."

"Well regardless, you can't leave yet." He stood up. "You hit your head pretty bad, and the healer told us that you have to rest. And because the chief put me in charge of you since I was the one who found you, I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

"Look," I said, "I appreciate the help, but I need to get going. I have to find out about..." Then I realized my bag wasn't anywhere near me. I could feel my face paling. "Where is it!?" I yelled and turned to look at Hiccup.

"Where's what?" He seemed a bit alarmed by my outburst.

"My bag! Where is it!?"

"Oh, that." He smiled. "You can calm down, it's right here." He walked over to the staircase and picked up my bag from behind it. _Oh thank gods..._

He handed the bag to me and I quickly opened it. I took the clothes out and threw them next to me, didn't care about those. Next thing that touched my hand was my notebook. That too, I threw aside.

Hiccup watched me and lifted a brow.

"Oh Odin, Thor and Freya, thank you!" I sighed in relief as I pulled the flute out of the bag and relaxed. My heart was beating fast and each beat still sent pangs of pain up to my head. I Pressed the flute halves together and played a few notes. "It works still."

"What's so special about that thing?" Hiccup asked.

"This..." I turned the flute in my hands. "This is the only thing I have to remind me of my mother."

"Oh." He seemed taken back. "What happened to her?"

I sighed. "It's none of your business, but if you have to know, she Died. Don't know how, don't know why, and don't really want to know."

"I understand." He said. "I lost my mom when I was a baby."

"Yeah..." I said awkwardly and started packing everything back into my bag. It took me about ten seconds to realize these weren't my clothes. I looked down and realized I wasn't _wearing_ my own clothes either.I raised my head to look up at Hiccup. "What happened to my clothes?"

"You mean those rags that were in your bag before? We threw them away and gave you some of my clothes, we seem to be the same size." He smiled.

"Uh, thanks, but why?" I raised a brow.

"For the time being, you are our guest. And Berkian custom is to take care of our guests." He answered and held his hand to me. "Let me help you up."

I looked at his hand for a moment, sighed, and grabbed it, letting him help pull me on my feet. When I tried to pull my hand away, he held on to it. I looked at him curiously.

"Let's try this again. I'm Hiccup, and you are?"

I looked at my feet, trying to come up with a new name for myself. I raised my head to look at his eyes. "Baird."

He smiled and shook my hand. "Pleasure to meet you Baird." He let go. "Now, would you allow me to show you our village?"

I shook my head as I closed the bag. "...Sure. Could use some fresh air anyway." I strapped the bag over my shoulder. Hiccup gestured towards the door. I went ahead and opened it, almost falling on my back when I was again startled by the Night Fury. It was sitting right by the door and looked at me like I was going stab it in the face or something.

"Toothless, relax." Hiccup said and came up behind me. "He's a friend."

The Dragon looked at me, then at Hiccup, and back at me. Then it's pupils that were just a moment before fine lines dilated into giant circles. Now it actually looked pretty darn cute.

I looked around and saw the busy afternoon Berk. There were lots of people going around, starting to finish up their daily jobs and chores, normal enough. What wasn't normal at all were the dragons flying around, some helping with the chores and others even letting vikings to RIDE them! _Berkians are bloody insane!_

"How long was I out?" I asked and looked at Hiccup.

"You were unconscious when we found you, but you've been here in Berk for two days now."

"Right." _I've already lost two days? I need to leave tonight._

Hiccup moved past me and and gestured me to follow. I didn't argue. He pointed at the giant door up the hill. "That's the Great Hall. All sorts of important things happen there, such as the village council and other official Berk business. I nodded and kept following him. I was hoping that if I played along he'd leave me alone. Then I could steal a fishing boat and get out of this island. What kinds of maniacs ride dragons, seriously?

"There's the forge." Hiccup interrupted my train of thought. I looked at the small building.

"Gobber works there as the smith. I was his apprentice for a long time, technically I still am."

"Uh-huh. You any good?" He looked at me, and there was a blink of pride in the corner of his eye. "Yes, I'm a rather good smith, even if I say so myself. I can show you, if you'd like."

"Sure."

"Let's go then."

We made our way towards the forge. Every step we took made me more and more uneasy because of the Night Fury walking hot on my heels. I tapped Hiccup's shoulder. He turned his head to look at me over it. "Hm?"

"Could your Night Fury please stop breathing on my ankles? It's really unnerving."

"Uh, of course." He turned to look at the dragon. "Toothless, could you please walk a bit further away from Baird?" The dragon lifted its head and grumbled at him argumentatively. "It's okay Bud. Just wait for me at home, okay? I'll be back before you know it." The dragon growled, then looked at me like I'd just stomped on its tail and walked away.

Now I saw the red in its tail properly. Its left fin of the tail was gone, replaced by a red, handmade fin. I figured it was some sort of fabric but I wasn't sure about it.

We continued towards the forge. On the way Hiccup told me how I was found on the small island by him and someone else called Astrid.

"'Ello Hiccup" A burly man with way overgrown blond braided mustache yelled from inside the forge. "'Os tha one with ya?" He waved a prosthetic hammer towards me.

"He's the one Astrid and I found on the Kniferock Island." Hiccup answered to the man.

"Es tha' right? C'mere lad." He said to me. _Oh boy..._

I walked into the forge with Hiccup. The smith grabbed my shoulder with his right non-prosthetic hand and scanned me from head to toes. "Jus' as scrawny fella' as Hiccup eh? What's yer name, laddie?"

I coughed at the stench of his breath. "My name is Baird. And I'd appreciate it if you'd let go of me."

The blacksmith laughed and let go, then offered his hand. "Mi name is Gobber. Pleasure to meet ya." Reluctantly I took his hand and shook it. "Likewise." He let go of my hand and turned around to continue whatever it was that he was that he was doing before we showed up. I wiped my hand on my leggings and turned to look at Hiccup.

"Over here." He said and gestured me to follow him. He led me to a backroom. There were pictures plastered all over the walls, each depicting different kinds of gadgets, weapons, simple luxuries to make life easier.

"Wow..." was the only thing I could say. I was in awe of it all.

"What do you think?" Hiccup asked, his tone a tad excited.

"I think you really know how to make up for the lake of brawn with brain." I studied one schematic that looked like some sort of bow with a handle.

"Thanks." He said and lifted a shield onto the table. It was made out of some very lightly tinted metal and had a Night Fury painted on as a heraldry. Clearly the same one as before, since half of its tail was red. "This, is my masterpiece." Hiccup said and showed me all the different things the shield could do, including a grappling hook-like thing and a big ass slingshot.

"Does it come with a mug holder?" I smirked.

Hiccup laughed, "No, this is the cheaper model."

"What's it made of?" I asked as I held it up. "It's remarkably light."

"I made it out of Gronckle Iron." He answered and rubbed his neck. "It's a mix of rocks that a Gronckle eats, then pukes out. Incredibly sturdy."

"Interesting..." I muttered to myself. "What kind of rocks goes into it?"

"We're not sure." Hiccup responded. "Regretfully, we don't know what kinds of rocks Meatlug ate before we discovered the metal."

I laid the shield back to the table, then faced him and raised a brow, "'Meatlug'?"

"The Gronckle who ate it." He explained. I just stared at him for a moment. _Gods, these Berkians are crazy._

"We should probably get going." Hiccup finally said and started walking out of the backroom. "I'll take you to the healer, she wanted to see you once you woke up.

"Why?" I asked.

"I don't know, but you can ask her once we get there."

We walked for a few minutes towards a hut that was held up by tall pylons that to me seemed a bit flimsy. I assumed it was the healer's home. On our way, Hiccup briefly pointed out the docks. I quickly scanned it, and saw just perfect little fishing vessel for me to helm out of here. It was currently occupied by a short viking and another much taller one who had... _does he really have a bucket on his head? Why?_ I shrugged and took a few running steps to catch up with Hiccup.

We met a lot of people, including many of our own age. Hiccup introduced me to most of them, but I didn't bother making any mental notes about them. I was leaving, after all.

Then we came across a blonde girl, same age as us. She greeted Hiccup with a smile and introduced herself to me with a firm handshake.

"Astrid Hofferson." She said and squished my hand. I had no doubt that this girl could beat me to within an inch of my life if she wanted to. I scanned her, looking for clues to her personality. And clues I found; first, her hand had callous points, so she was no stranger to physical labor. She had metallic shoulder pads, clearly a warrior, but her light blue striped tunic and spiked skirt gave the impression that she wanted to be seen as a woman too. Her sky blue eyes fixated in mine expectantly gave me a distinct idea of her "no nonsense" personality.

"This is the part where you tell me your name," she interrupted my profiling, at the same time sounding amused and impatient.

"I'm Baird." I answered.

"No family name?" She asked a bit surprised.

I shook my head. "Street rats have no need for family names."

"Oh." She reacted. This girl's voice was hard to read, she sounded like she both pitied me but also a bit like she looked down on me.

"I was just taking him to see Gothi. Do you want to come with us?" Hiccup asked.

 _She was pretty, so why not._ "Yes indeed, why wouldn't you come with us." I said. "I'd very much appreciate the company of the person without whom I'd still be stranded on a deserted island, or even in Helheim."

"What are you talking about?" She asked, raising a brow. Hiccup too looked at me a bit strangely.

"Well Hiccup here told me of how you came to race him with your dragon. If you hadn't, neither of you would have likely come over to that island and I'd be dead. So, it logically means that I owe my life to the both of you."

They looked at each other and shared a nod in agreement.

"Well, let's go then," I hurried. I started to think it wouldn't be that bad a thing to go see the healer after all. Mostly because my headache started to come back.

We reached the hut. On the way Hiccup and Astrid had talked about something concerning about something called 'The Dragon Academy'. That wouldn't have interested me, but when Astrid had immediately silenced Hiccup when he mentioned it, I got curious and listened more closely as she'd whispered to him, "Don't you remember what happened with Heather?" _Who's that?_

"Yes, but she turned out to be a friend. Maybe he will too." Hiccup had replied under his breath.

"What, you want to train him to be a rider?" Astrid had snapped back mockingly, still trying to keep her voice low so I wouldn't hear.

"I didn't say that." Hiccup said defensively, though added "not yet anyway" to it. "I'm not saying we should just give all our secrets to him, but it wouldn't hurt to be nice. Don't trust him if you don't want to, but trust me."

Astrid had sounded like she was really annoyed at that. "That's EXACTLY what you said about Heather, and the next thing we knew, she stole Stormfly and delivered The Book of Dragons straight into Alvin's hands."

I had had to cut in at that point, "You know, it's rude to whisper in company." They'd both turned to look at me, surprised. They'd asked how much I heard. I was glad I'd learned to listen to hushed voices long ago.

"All of it," I'd answered. "But I assure you, I don't care about your dragons or books about dragons. Or about whoever this Alvin person is. All I want right now is to get my head checked and leave you crazy dragon people to your own."

Astrid had shot a suspicious glare at me, but seemed to believe me, at least for now. Hiccup had just shrugged, but he did give me this look, one that said that he was determined to turn me into a friend. I'd **almost** ,felt guilty for planning to leave.

We climbed the stairs to the healer's hut, all the while Astrid and Hiccup argued about what they'd discussed before, this time they knew they had to be extra quiet for me not to hear them. And this time they succeeded, since all I heard was incoherent mumbles and murmurs, making out only a few words here and there. I didn't care.

We reached the top and Hiccup knocked on the door. I could hear soft steps from the other side, then the door opened and I saw a very old, frail looking little woman standing in the door frame, leaning on her staff for support. She was short, not much more than five feet tall, and her gray hair almost reached her knees. She was hunched, adding to her shortness. She seemed to recognize me as she gestured all of us inside.

There were all sorts of different potions and ingredients for potions on the shelves covering the hut's walls. On some shelves, there were books and e few skulls even. Basic shaman things. She gestured me to sit down on a bench. I sat down and she drew something on the sand she had scattered all over the hut with her staff. Hiccup moved over to look. "She says you had a concussion." He read the scribbles. "How are you feeling?"

I leaned back against the wall. "My head still hurts. I feel a bit weak, but not like I'd pass out."

The healer nodded and disappeared into her a backroom, then came back with a note. She walked right past me to the shelves that held all the ingredients and stuff. She checked the note, then picked up different ingredients. Once she had all that she needed, she headed back to the backroom and I was left alone with Hiccup and Astrid. There was a silence between us until a Terrible Terror appeared from the backroom and landed on Hiccup's shoulder. He scratched the dragon's chin, causing it to make a purring sound.

I looked at him and shook my head. _That stuff just isn't normal._

"So what exactly were you doing on Kniferock Island?" Astrid asked, her blue eyes staring at me behind her bangs.

"Trying not to die of concussion?" I responded, getting a small grin from Hiccup.

"Oh wonderful, now we have two of you jesters." She gestured at me and Hiccup. "I mean why were you there."

I sighed. "I was passing by, but the storm last night threw me off course and a hit the rocks. Or did you think I intentionally headed for a deserted island with nothing but sand and rocks?"

"Where were you passing by to?" Her stare didn't let up.

"What is this interrogation? I don't think I've done anything wrong to warrant such suspicion." I said annoyed.

"No he has not." Hiccup confirmed and turned to look at her.

"Where were you headed?" Astrid pressed, ignoring Hiccup.

"None of your business." I snapped back.

She pushed herself of the wall, then calmly and collectively walked over to me, staring right through me. "If it risks the safety of Berk or it's citizens, it IS my business." I stared right back to her eyes, not blinking. It was a psychological game to establish dominance, and she was at an advantage since she was standing and I was sitting. Hiccup must have understood this, since he didn't even try to break it up.

"Where I was headed and why doesn't concern you in the least." I stood up, taking away the advantage from her. Unfortunately in the process I gave her another one; she was taller than me, so she was at an advantage again. I tried to ignore it and continued. "Now, why don't you go right back to that wall, lean on it, and get your nose out of my business."

She blinked in surprise. A smug grin twitched at my lips. I won. Clearly, she wasn't expecting me put up such resistance. I concluded that this meant that she was used to getting thing done her way and nobody questioning it, either in hopes of appeasing her or simply afraid of what she'd do if they didn't comply. She actually seemed to be a bit impressed.

"Alright then." She smiled somewhat coldly, then turned around and walked back to the wall she'd been leaning on when we got here and took the same position as then, just more relaxed now.

I sat back down and looked at Hiccup who looked at me astonished.

"What?"

Before he could answer the healer came back from the backroom and gave me a bowl of some sort of orange-ish liquid. It had a sweet scent. "What is this?" I asked.

She wrapped her fingers around an invisible mug and drank from it.

I looked at Hiccup who nodded, the Terrible Terror still on his shoulder.

 _Well, here goes nothing._ I lifted the bowl to my lips and let the liquid flow down my throat. It didn't taste the way it smelled at all; it was very bitter. With wrinkled nose and tightly closed eyes, I finished the drink. I shook my head and rubbed my tongue against the roof of my mouth.

"Now what?"

She scribbled something on the sand again. Hiccup looked over her shoulder and translated, "She says you need to rest for a few days, but otherwise you're going to be fine."

"Great. But what exactly was that stuff I just drank?"

The healer smoothed out the earlier scribbles in the sand and drew new ones.

"Medicine to cure headache and restore strength." Hiccup translated. "You might feel a bit woozy and lightheaded for a while, and if you do, you should lie down." The healer nodded.

"Well then." I said as I stood up. "Thank you, for your help." I looked at the healer. She nodded and smiled.

"I'll take you home." Hiccup said. "You should meet dad anyway."

"Sure thing..." I said, my vision started to blur. "Oh... I don't feel too..." Lights out.

* * *

I woke up what I gather was two hours later at the same spot in the same house I woke up in earlier. I startled when I saw a big and burly man with the thickest, most impressive beard I'd ever seen sitting on an armchair close to me, sharpening an axe with a whetstone. "Ah, ye'r awake." He said and set the axe on the floor next to his feet. He stood up, towering over me. "My name is Stoick the Vast, the Chief of Berk."

Immediately I stood up, ignoring the vertigo and bowed. "My apologies, Chief." I said. "I'm new here and didn't know you're him, please forgive me."

He looked at me like oddly. "There's no need fer such." He laid his hand on my shoulder. "Ye'r a guest in my village, and in my house."

"I thank you, Chief." I responded. I couldn't help my timid tone.

"What're ye scared of?" He asked and raised a brow.

I took in a deep breath, then exhaled and showed him my left hand. He looked at it quickly. "What happened to yer nails?" He asked when he noticed two of my fingers were missing them. They'd started to grow back though, slowly.

"Let's just say that the last Chief I met wasn't too happy about the fact that I hadn't recognized him and shown proper respect."

"Hmph." Stoick let out. "Some people shouldn't be made Chief. Especially those who torture kids."

"Well, life's not fair." I sighed and sat back down. He did too. "My name is Baird, by the way."

He nodded, then yelled, "Hiccup!"

"Yeah?" I heard Hiccup's voice from upstairs.

"Supper's ready. Also, Baird's awake."

"Right, coming." He quickly came down the stairs, his pet Night Fury right on his heels.

He sat down on the other side of the fire. Stoick handed him a fish he'd been roasting on the fire. He then gave me another one and took three on his own plate, then tipped over a barrelful of raw ones on the floor in front of the Night Fury who immediately started digging into them with almost a childlike look on it's face.

"How was your day?" Stoick asked Hiccup a bit awkwardly. I stopped eating to assess the situation.

"Oh, other than showing Baird around" he gestured towards me in acknowledgement that I was here, "nothing too special. Normal day at the Academy." _There it was again; The Academy. What's so special about that?_

"Well, that's good to hear." Stoick answered. Clearly, there was some issues in this family. "No news is good news, as they say."

"Right..." They both continued eating without saying much else.

When I was almost finished eating my fish, Hiccup pointed something out, "One actually quite impressive thing happened today."

Stoick looked up at him, "Well? Out with it!" He seemed enthusiastic rather than harsh.

"Baird stared down Astrid." Hiccup smirked. "The look on her face was priceless!"

"Is that so?" Stoick asked, then laughed. "How did ye manage that, lad?" He looked at me.

"Well..." I started. "I think that maybe she's used to people doing what she wants them to do. My guess is, that she has always been as pretty and tough as she is now." I looked at Hiccup who confirmed it with a nod. "Then the other kids have usually done what she has asked them to, correct?" Another nod. "Well, then she simply wasn't prepared for resistance and when she encountered it, she backed down."

Stoick laughed. "Ye've got guts lad."

"Thanks." I smiled. "Let's just hope she let's me keep them."

Hiccup laughed and Stoick also made a grunt that could be interpreted as laugh.

Rest of the evening went on easily. I made a quick turn in Hiccup's room, where he showed me some of his drawings. I showed him some of mine and taught him a few techniques to focus more attention to detail. He seemed to take well to my teaching. Now I **actually** felt a little bit bad for leaving. But it didn't matter. I had a goal, and I had to achieve it.

When everyone went to sleep, I waited. Lying awake on my small bedding. When I heard Stoick's heavy snoring, I figured that it was time. I grabbed my bag and stuffed a few loaves of bread into it from the larder. Then I snuck out through the door and darted for the docks.

Moonlight was the only source of light in the night, but I was sure that I could get one small fishing boat out and about even if there was a lack of light. I saw the docks. Now it was just a run downhill and I'd be clear. I started running.

When I was about halfway down the hill, something stepped from between the buildings at hit me in the chest. It knocked the air out of my lungs and made me fall on my back, gasping to replace the air I'd just lost.

"I knew it." Astrid's said as she stepped out of the shadows. She placed her boot on my chest and her axe on my throat. It glinted in the moonlight, and I'd have been impressed by the attention to detail on sharpening it if it wasn't being held so close to my vitals. "Who are you working for?" I couldn't see her face since she was standing with her back turned to the moon. "Alvin and the Outcasts? Or are in with the Berserker Tribe?"

"I don't even know who the Outcasts are!" I managed to croak. "And Dagur had me tortured the last time I saw him for not knowing that he was the chief!"

She lifted her foot from my chest but still kept her axe close to my throat, ready to cut it if she so pleased. Immediately when her weight left my chest I gasped in a big breath of air.

"So you've been to the Berserker Island. What do you know about them?" She pressed.

"That their chief is a total maniac?"

I couldn't see it, but I could feel her giving me a very annoyed look.

"Look, I don't know about them or about whatever this conflict between your tribes is. I'm even going in the completely opposite direction from their island!"

"No." She declared. "You're not going anywhere."

"I'm sorry." I responded. "But I really need to go." I grabbed a handful of sand from the ground and tossed it at her face. I must've gotten some of it in her eyes, since she winced backwards and moved the axe away from my throat, cursing me. I used this moment to get up and continue to the docks. It wouldn't be long until she'd recover from it and cleave my head off.

I heard her yell my name behind me. I just kept running as fast as I could towards the ship I'd seen earlier. I was only two yards away from it, when I heard her scream, "Stormfly! Sic him!"

I don't know what possessed me to stop and look at the dragon that swept down from the rooftop towards me. _Oh you've got to be kidding me..._ The dragon landed directly on me, effectively pinning be to the ground without any use of my limbs.

Astrid came running down the hill, still rubbing sand from her eyes. "Good girl Stormfly." She patted the Deadly Natter sitting on me. Then she turned to look at me. "Be glad I'm not cutting your throat."

"I'm glad I'm able to breathe with your damn reptile sitting on my lungs!" I huffed back.

She placed the axe on a sheath she had tied to the saddle of the Natter. "Stormfly, up." She said and the dragon obeyed her, spreading it's wings and jumping off of me.

Astrid lifted me by my shirt, then twisted my arm behind my back. "Let's go. We're gonna have a little chat with the chief."

 _Oh shit._ "Wait!" I said as she walked me up the hill. "Stoick put Hiccup in charge of me, right?" She didn't stop pushing me forward but I understood that I got her attention. "So, if you take this to the chief, it will reflect badly on Hiccup." She stopped pushing me for a moment, clearly thinking.

"Look, let me talk with him. Hiccup I mean. You can tell him whatever you want first, but let me explain myself to him."

She was quiet for a while, then finally agreed. "You get five minutes."

I nodded. "Deal. Now could you please stop twisting my arm out of its socket?"

She grunted, pushing it further up a few inches and then let go. "Sheesh..." I let out, rubbing my shoulder as she walked past me. "You really are hardcore, aren't you?" She didn't answer, but neither had I expected her to.

* * *

We reached the chief's house and she led me to the back. "Wait here." She told me as she jumped onto a handle on the wall and used it to pull herself up to Hiccup's hatch in the roof almost effortlessly.

"I see you've taken the backdoor to visit him before." I smirked.

She turned her head to shoot me a menacing glare. "Shutting up," I said quickly but kept my grin.

Astrid disappeared from the hatch and I was left alone with the dragon. _Perfect..._ "So... do you like chicken?" I asked casually. Little did I know that the stupid reptile loved it and now thought that I had some on me, and for some reason figured that the best way to get it from me was to try and peck me with its beak. I started to run away from it after it poked me a few times, but the damn lizard must have thought we were playing and jumped on top of me. Luckily Astrid and Hiccup were just climbing down from the hatch.

"For the love of- What are you doing to my dragon!?" Astrid yelled when she saw me.

"What am **I** doing?!" I let out. " The question is what is **it** doing to me!"

"Okay enough you two." Hiccup cut in. "Astrid would you please," he gestured at the Nadder.

"Do I really have to?" She asked, a small smile pulling at her lips. "This is actually very amusing to witness."

Hiccup pursed his lips and looked at her patiently.

"Oh fine." She let out. "Stormfly, up." She quickly flicked her wrist like in a signal and the dragon jumped off of me.

I quickly climbed on my feet swept dust off of my tunic. "Right..." I said and cleared my throat. "I suppose you have some questions. If you don't mind, I'd like as few people knowing about it as possible, so could we talk out of her earshot?" I looked at Astrid who clearly heard what I said and stared at me angrily.

"Fine." Hiccup said and shook his head. "Let's go." We walked a few yards away from her.

"Now," I said, "what exactly did she tell you?"

"Only that you tried to steal a boat and that you threw sand in her eyes when she tried to stop you." His brows pulled to a frown. "Tell me, what's going on Baird?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled in a sigh. "It'll be easier to show you." I shifted through my pack and pulled out my notebook. I paged through it until I found the small page I'd ripped from another book and glued on mine. On the page, there was a drawing of my flute, and some text that read:

'The flute of Bragi

Bragi was a demigod of music and poetry, son of Odin and a Forest Spirit. His magical flute was made out of a splinter that fell from Yggdrasil when Loki tricked Thor to rain lightning on it. The flute was made by the Alfar and given as a gift to Bragi. According to the saga, Bragi could control the minds of everything living when he played his magical flute.

Upon one night, Bragi heard the most beautiful voice singing a song. He appeared to the singer in a mortal form, finding it to be a very beautiful young maiden. Bragi seduced this lady and she became heavy with a child. Before Bragi left her side, he gave the flute to her, and told her to give it to her child when it would be of age to understand the responsibility of such an item. The rumors say that the flute is still being passed down generation after generation of Bragi's children.

The saga also says that only when it has been fully understood by his child inside his temple that only opens once every summer solstice can a person truly understand the magnificence of such a powerful relic.

The flute itself is covered with runic blessings that guarantee it will only work for a descendant of Bragi, and nobody else.'

Hiccup read the note and then looked at me. "And you think that you're a descendant of a god?

"No." I groaned. "I'm saying I have to find that temple before the summer solstice to see **if** I am. I mean, it would make sense, right? My mom gave it to me, and she told me that she got it from her father and he got it from his father and so on and so forth. And I can control people's minds. Not completely, for that I'd need to visit the temple apparently, but I can make people feel emotions. If I play a bloody war song, I can make people angry. If I play a cheery tavern song, people get happy. If I play a tragedy, people get sad."

"Music has always been known to inspire emotions in people. And how do you know your flute is even real?" Hiccup asked.

"No music can change people's feelings the way my flute can." I answered.

Hiccup sighed. "And you're absolutely sure about this?"

"I'm sure that I'll never find out if I don't try."

"Let's test it out then." Hiccup said and handed the notebook back to me. I stuffed it in the bag, took out the flute halves and pressed them together.

We walked back to Astrid and on the way I told Hiccup not to tell her. He simply nodded.

"Okay, this might sound strange, but I'm going to play a song for you, and I'd like to know if you feel any differences in your emotions by it." I said to her. She looked at Hiccup, raising a brow.

"Just do it, okay?" Hiccup said.

"Fine, let's get this over with."

I lifted the lip plate under my mouth and blew a few notes, then I started to play a very fast tempoed tavern song. As I played it, slowly upping the tempo as I went, Astrid started to smile, slowly but surely. Even her dragon seemed to be into it.

I ended the song and looked at Astrid expectantly. "Suddenly, I no longer have an urge to punch you." She said.

I looked at hiccup who was also smiling. "Okay, let's try something else. Play a tragedy." He said to me.

"Ok, let me think... got it." I replied and lifted the flute up again. I remembered a tale of a viking who left to war leaving his wife and child home. The song told about his final moments and how he missed his family as he slowly bled out on the cold battlefield.

And sure enough, soon both of them were in tears. "What*sniff* sorcery is this?" Astrid asked and wiped her tears on her arm.

"It's... complicated." I said and looked at Hiccup who also cleaned his face on his sleeve.

"Let's all go to sleep. We'll talk about this in the morning." Hiccup said. Astrid nodded in agreement.

"Come on Baird." Hiccup said "We'll figure everything out tomorrow.

"Yeah." I said nervously. I hoped I wouldn't come to regret telling him. Either for my own or on his behalf.


End file.
